Beshear wins in Ky., Bryant in Miss.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear cruised to a second term over Republican David Williams Tuesday in a win that offers Democrats a 2012 template for how to run in a dismal economic environment.

The answer: outraise and outspend, define and discredit the opponent early and often, and position the incumbent as the steady, trusted hand to handle the dismal economic situation. That relentlessly aggressive localized strategy delivered a win for Democrats in a conservative state where President Obama is grossly unpopular and unemployment hovers above the national average.

Beshear led Williams, the state senate president, by 23 points with more than 75 percent of all precincts reporting — a resounding result that was never really in question since the Democrat locked a double-digit lead last spring.

Independent Gatewood Galbraith, an attorney who has run for governor five times, was holding just under 10 percent of the vote.

Bolstered by a $10 million war chest, the 67-year-old Beshear never really had a competitive race, with the campaign concentrated on steadily pushing up the numbers from Beshear’s first internal poll in January that showed him with just an eight point lead, 50 percent to 42 percent.

“We concentrated on first raising money aggressively, especially from Republican donors so we could cut off any movement early while Williams was still mired in a primary. Second, we started defining Gov. Beshear early, with a very aggressive radio buy in April while they were still in a primary and making sure that he was constantly working hard to create jobs, even in very small areas or just a few jobs, doing announcements for as many as he possibly could whenever he could,” explained Beshear campaign manager Bill Hyers.

By April, their own polling showed Beshear’s lead extending to 14 points.

But Beshear’s team, consisting of Hyers, and media consultants Fred Yang and David Eichenbaum, didn’t take their feet off the gas.

Beshear went up with an advertisement the day after Williams limped out of the May primary where he talked about his focus on jobs and how he slashed his own pay. That paid media was enhanced by a roll out of long list of Republican supporters, including a former lieutenant governor and several former GOP county chairmen.

Meanwhile, they launched a fierce assault on the Republican ticket in the free press. Williams was targeted for spending $17,000 to renovate his office and install a flat-screen television while running mate Richie Farmer was assailed for his pricey hotel room stays and refusal to take furlough days along with his employees.